


Words

by CarlywithaC



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angsty David, David never gets enough credit, Gen, Inner Dialogue, Mentioned Les Jacobs, Mentioned Sarah Jacobs, Mentioned Spot Conlon, Movie based, Not meant to be a ship fic but i guess it's there if you squint, POV First Person, Quote based, Short One Shot, Thought based, sorry it's short again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 21:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15737451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarlywithaC/pseuds/CarlywithaC
Summary: "All those words you said, those were mine.""Yeah, but you never had the guts to put them across yourself, did ya?""I do now."





	Words

We don't need him. He was just the puppet. I thought up every single thing he said. He was just the spokesperson, being fed every single word that came out of his mouth. They were my thoughts and my ideas that he said. Every speech was mine. Every inspiring word he said started out as my idea. He just made it flashy and easy for them to understand. But they were mine.

Mine.

But did I get credit at all?

Sure he mentioned me and I got my 15 seconds at the rally, but other than that, I got _nothing._

_Zero. Zip. Zilch._

And I can't believe I was so dumb as to not realize it until I saw him this morning in that fancy suit. Until I saw the scab, the sellout. The once-great leader who was now the coward.

They were my words anyways. He was just the voice, literally, behind them.

I know I was never one to speak up, whether it be in school or anywhere really. So I knew Jack hogging the spotlight was partially my fault. I could have stepped up at any moment and been heard, but I chose not to.

I chose to stay off in the shadows while Jack 'Cowboy' Kelly, no, sorry, _Francis Sullivan_ , inspired the minds and hearts of the newsies. I know I shouldn't complain, or I shouldn't direct all of my hate towards him. I knew I was sitting on the sidelines, whispering words to him that he could fancy up and say.

And now he's a scab. That's why he didn't follow me last night. Pulitzer had made him an offer. He would take his money after the strike, and be off to Santa Fe without so much as a backward glance. Some leader he was. Some friend he was.

Ha! Les thinks he's fooling them. Sure, the kid is almost 10, but you have to learn when to just give up on a person and move on. He doesn't care about us. He only cares about one thing.

Santa Fe.

I can only guess how Sarah is going to take this. It won't be pretty, that's for sure.

Now, we don't have a leader. Sure, some of the boys may think Spot can take over, but what could that get us? He already threatened to kill Jack this morning. If we don't want violence, he isn't the leader for us.

But I might be. This is just what I need to step up. To let my thoughts be heard.

By _my own voice._

He said I didn't have guts, but I'll prove him wrong. I'll become Manhattan's leader; I'll become the _strike_ leader. I'm not like him. I won't give up on us for an easy way to a fast buck. I care about more than myself. I care about what happens to the other guys. They need to win the strike. They have nothing without it. Being a newsie is their entire life. It's all they have going for them. Their lives are riding on winning this strike. So we have to win, no matter what it takes. We just have to.

See, _Francis_. I can write a flashy speech of my own.


End file.
